Today in the orchard
Tree Lilac June 30, 2025
Today we sprayed twice, once in the early morning and once in the evening. We’re spraying to protect the apples from codling moth (Cydia pomonella). Codling moth is one of the major apple pests in Maine. It enters the calyx and reeks havoc inside the fruit. You can tell you’ve got damage simply by looking at the calyx; if you see frass, you know you’ve got trouble inside. We sprayed Dipel and Surround. We also sprayed Regalia (biofungicide), Cueva (copper fungicide) and CalPlus (calcium nutritional supplement).
This was the first time we’d sprayed in a couple of weeks, and it provided an opportunity to look at every tree. It’s now fairly easy to see the fruit, especially the red cultivars that are showing some color. The crop is (alas) a light one. The week of cold wet weather during bloom was likely the culprit. The bees were huddled together in the hives when they should have been out pollinating the blossoms. Still (so far). It appears that the Duchess, Black Oxfords, Frostbites and Scout will all have good crops. And there will be others.
Another spectacular plant that’s now in bloom is the Tree Lilac (Syringa reticulata). It blooms nearly a month after the common lilacs. The bloom and fragrance make it worth having on the farm. We also sighted another Scarlet Tanager on the driveway. What an amazing electric red!
